There are several types of sporting equipment that enable a user to glide over snow, make turns, and control their speed. The primary products in this category are skis and snowboards, both of which are equipped with bindings that receive and secure boots that are worn by the user.
The skis orient the user facing in the direction of travel, with one foot on each ski, so the skis are oriented in a substantially parallel relationship when the user is in motion. A ski is typically a narrow strip of wood, plastic, metal, or a combination thereof, worn underfoot to enable the wearer to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to boots with bindings, either with a free, lockable, or permanently secured heel. Examining the ski from front to back along the direction of travel, the front of the ski (typically pointed or rounded) is the “tip,” the middle is the “waist,” and the rear (typically flat) is the “tail.” All skis have four basic measures that define their basic performance: length, width, sidecut, and camber. Skis also differ in more minor ways to address certain niche roles. For instance, mogul skis are much softer to absorb shocks, and powder skis are much wider to provide more float.
In contrast, snowboards are a single board that is usually as wide as the length of the wearer's foot. Snowboards are further differentiated from skis by the stance of the user. In skiing, the user stands with feet in-line with the direction of travel (parallel to long axis of board), whereas in snowboarding, users stand with their feet transverse to the length dimension of the snowboard. Snowboards generally require bindings and special boots that help secure both feet of a snowboarder, who generally rides in an upright position. The bindings are separate components from the snowboard deck and are very important parts of the total snowboard interface. The bindings' main function is to hold the rider's boot in place tightly to transfer their energy to the board. Most bindings are attached to the board with three or four screws that are placed in the center of the binding. There are two types of stance-direction used by snowboarders. A “regular” stance places the rider's left foot at the front of the snowboard, while the opposite stance direction places the rider's right foot at the front, as in skateboarding. Regular is the most common.
Neither snowboards nor skis turn much by having the rider simply lean. To initiate a turn on either of these devices, the rider must push the back ends of the ski or snowboard around. With a snowboard, the learning process generally takes multiple outings involving significant collisions with the ground before the rider can take on even modest green slopes. Skiers generally rely on the snowplow position where the skis are pointed in a “V” shape in front of the skier to slow their forward motion and to initiate turns early on. Again, days are required before even modest hills can be conquered by a novice skier and, after years, only the best riders can truly ski the moguls. Most simply scrape off the top of the moguls as they slide sideways in an attempt to remain in control of their motion. Thus, neither of these technologies is user friendly and both require a significant investment in time and professionally administered lessons for the user to develop a modest level of competence.
In an analogous field, water skis enable a rider who is towed by a boat to execute turns as they travel over the surface of the water. While the tow rope limits the range of motion of the rider, the basic nature of the skis is similar to those used in snow skiing.